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April 17, 2007

G12: Blue Jays 2, Red Sox 1

Back from Skydome (I took some pictures; see Jere's blog), where 42,000+ turned out to see Matsuzaka (helped along by Tuesday's $2 upper deck seats). The crowd was a bit rowdy for Canada; the first of several "Boston sucks" chants was heard in the top of the fourth. On our way out of the park, Jays fans reveled in their victory as though they had just won the pennant. Calm down guys, it's mid-April.

Dice pitched well (6-3-2-3-10, 105), except for a five-batter stretch in the fourth inning, when he lost control of the strike zone.

With out out, Wells singled, Thomas walked on four pitches, Overbay singled in a run, Hill walked, and Zaun walked on five pitches to force in a run. ... Toronto's only other hit (and only other base runner) was Smith's single in the third.

In the top of the third, Wily Mo Pena hit a missile that bounced off the roof of the restaurant in dead center field. If Wells moved at all in center, it was only because he felt like he needed some exercise.

Dice-K on Vernon Wells: "When he came to Japan [MLB All-Star tour in 2004], I knew he was a good hitter, a slugger. Most home run hitters have spots where you can strike them out. Vernon Wells can make contact with any pitch. He's not just a home run hitter."

[BJ] Ryan is expected to miss four to six weeks with a strained ligament in his left elbow, while [Reed] Johnson will be out at least two months after deciding to undergo back surgery. [Troy] Glaus joined those two on the 15-day disabled list with a sore left heel and a tight hamstring.

Boston (7-4) leads Toronto (7-5) in the East by .5 games. Of the 13 games remaining in April, 11 are against Toronto and New York (5-6, hosting Cleveland), who have both been hit by injuries. Let's make some early hay.

We sat next to a man who had just returned to Toronto after 18 years in Japan. He used to watch Matzusaka pitch in high school! He's a teacher, and he was friends with the teacher who was also the baseball coach, and avidly followed Dice-K's career. We learned a bit about Japanese baseball culture.

From TV-land, Dice-K was cruising except for that one inning. I thought that what really threw him off was Varitek giving him the 'hurry up' hand twirling when he stepped off the mound during Well's AB. He appeared really flustered after that (as is being admonished by the big man) then walked Wells ... Great that he regained composure after that inning. He's got the approval of Rance Mulliniks.

I've seen fair-weather Blue Jay fans in action since returning to Canada in '92. Then, when the Jays were good, they were just obnoxious. Now, they're insufferable, especially when the Sox are in town. Just wait till they start yapping about their 'destiny.' Will be interesting to see crowd size tonight.

I have also witnessed the more obnoxious side of Blue Jays fans. When I went there in '04, there were plenty of "1918" chants. One kid even stood up and loudly yelled "Last time the Jays won the World Seires, my girlfriend and I watched it on TV! Last tie the Sox won, they didn't have TV!" (I wanted to point out the irony that I was following my team to another country, while he settled for watching his in the World Series on TV. And how I never see any Jays fans at Fenway, meanwhile, the crowd at Skydome that day was 60 percent Sox fans.)

And right up to the last few seasons, the way they're all over Manny, and saying "Red Sox suck!" Why? The only reason I can think of is them neing sick of us taking over their park when our team is there. (Whose fault is that?) Because we never did anything to them--we never chant "Blue Jays suck" at Fenway.